{"product_id":"nonadaptive-selection-an-evolutionary-source-of-ecological-laws-paperback","title":"Nonadaptive Selection: An Evolutionary Source of Ecological Laws - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJohn Damuth\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe first comprehensive explanation of a widely applicable but underappreciated mechanism of evolution operating at higher levels of organization than the individual.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In this important treatise, ecologists and evolutionary biologists John Damuth and Lev R. Ginzburg identify a specific evolutionary process in biology, which they call \u003ci\u003enonadaptive selection\u003c\/i\u003e. The idea is simple, but the implications are profound. \u003ci\u003eNonadaptive selection\u003c\/i\u003e, as they use the term, is selection among biological entities (as is natural selection) but is based on the fitness effects of structural properties intrinsic to the entities under selection rather than on interactions between traits and a local shared environment. In other words, features of systems that evolve by nonadaptive selection do not adapt to local environmental conditions; rather, this selective process increases the long-term stability of the focal systems independent of local conditions. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Nonadaptive selection may be of particular value in explaining broad, persistent patterns in multispecies biological units where adaptive evolution may be weak or poorly defined. Examples include Damuth's Law, the equivalence of energy use among animal species across a wide range of body sizes; the ratio-dependent, or Arditi-Ginzburg, predation conjecture; the consistency of allometric scaling powers; the shortness of trophic chains; and the prevalence of certain types of three-species trophic structures across ecosystems. Damuth and Ginzburg see nonadaptive selection underlying patterns of ecological allometries, community structure, and species interactions, with some implications for macroevolution. Moreover, they find a surprising relationship between these nonadaptive processes and biological laws. They do not advocate the reorientation of any existing research programs but present nonadaptive selection as an additional conceptual framework that may be useful to add to ecology and evolution.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJohn Damuth \u003c\/b\u003e(1952-2024) was a senior research scientist in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. \u003cb\u003eLev R. Ginzburg\u003c\/b\u003e is professor emeritus in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at Stony Brook University. Among his books are the coauthored \u003ci\u003eHow Species Interact: Altering the Standard View on Trophic Ecology\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eEcological Orbits: How Planets Move and Populations Grow\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 240\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.7 x 8.9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e July 10, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47665004151005,"sku":"9780226838571","price":71.82,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0811\/9867\/8237\/files\/y4Br8cms7u9780226838571.webp?v=1773915073","url":"https:\/\/handfulofbooks.com\/products\/nonadaptive-selection-an-evolutionary-source-of-ecological-laws-paperback","provider":"Handful of Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}